172 
Russell the Specialist 
Continued from Page 161 
shape. 
It was impossible to confine the fame of 
this show, either to the allotment or to the 
town. Seedsmen from all over the country 
and from abroad began to arrive, offering 
$50.00 for this plant or $100.00 for that. 
But Mr. Russell turned them all down; he 
was not yet ready. Whatever his object was, 
it was plainly not gain. This jobbing gard- 
ener, who could have done with the money, 
was throwing away plants he could have 
sold for a small fortune, but because they 
did not satisfy the standard he had set 
himself! 
He answered with the same shy stubborn- 
ness proposals made to him by firms who 
wanted to buy his creations root and stem. 
They reasoned with him; they pleaded post- 
erity’s cause. What would happen to the 
secret of his Lupins if he died? Ah, said 
Russell, he had thot of that. His neighbor’s 
boy, Sonny Heard, a lad who had always 
helped him, knew all about them. In the 
end Russell was persuaded. He sold the 
lot to a firm in the Midlands, on the under- 
standing that Sonny went with them. 
Some growers work to scientific princi- 
ples. If Mr. Russell did so, he seems to 
have been unaware of it. He once had a 
copy of Mendel’s principles, but he had never 
studied it. He collected seeds from all over 
the world and, he says, “Me and Sonny 
spent hours on winter nights chipping Lupin 
seeds to make sure they would germinate.” 
And most of the outdoor work, according 
to the old man, was done by bumble bees. 
A member of the Royal Horticultural Soc- 
iety’s Floral Committee once said, “I do not 
know which other Lupin species Mr. Russell 
used in his work, but from the range of 
colors I suspect Lupinus lexiflorus, L. noo- 
tkatensis and L. subcarnosus have all played 
some part.” To such analysis, Mr. Russell 
reacts with a look of gratification touched 
with mild surprise. 
The fact seems to be that Mr. Russell is 
a natural Mendelian, one of that long line 
of creative cultivators who in years (or, 
rather, in centuries) of painstaking hybrid- 
ising, the selection and re-selection, have 
evolved our garden flowers from the wild 
plants. It is a curious thought that some 
of our most beautiful and _ sophisticated 
flowers have been created by people in whom 
artistry is not otherwise apparent. 
To-day, old Mr. Russell sits in the sun 
(this was written in 1950) outside the cot- 
tage he shares with Sonny at that nursery in 
the Midlands, looking out over dazzling 
acres of lLupins which even Dutchmen 
confess outshine their tulip fields. The firm 
who bought the Russell Lupins thought the 
old man might still feel inclined to putter 
with his plants; there was work to be done 
on the Columbine, for example. But old 
age now holds him to his chair and he is 
content just to sit, especially in June when 
the wind can bring him the scent of his 
Lupins. 
His pioneering plants have now been 
taken beyond the stage of development he 
reached with them on his allotment. But the 
catalog still carries his original flowers. 
There is the “Mrs. Micklethwaite” in salmon- 
pink, the bright red “City of York’, the 
“Sonny” in cerise, and a coral pink bloom 
that he chose to carry his own name: 
Their names are a memorial to the loyalties 
of an entirely satisfactory life. 
The above is from THE OBSERVER and 
published Sunday, June 18, 1950 and thus 
before Mr. Russell’s death this Oct. 15th. 
BRODIAEA - BROWALLIA 
BRIZA (BRY-zah) Quacking Grass Ornamental Grass : 
Quacking Gras. Ornamental grasses grown for bouquets, dried or for specem 
plantings. Sow seed early in spring jn average garden soil; easily grown. 
S—EVLEL ATG oe AO ee EUs EL AAn ot, cneetey, cccdgnersstsvacecochwosscnscegsussnessucschnaszare ies we. BRIZ-1. 15¢ 
—mMinor, TO 18 INCHES, HA  oiaecccccccccssecsscssescossccessscccsscocvescsvsvecsscsvoces  cesnoceaccnceonsssenesenee se BRIZ-2. 15¢ 
BRODIAEA (broh-di-EE-ah) ; 
Hardy on West Coast and in the South; in North they can be grown in RG with good 
winter protection. Excellent for naturalizing; dislikes wet situations 
==CalifOrnicaw. V1iOlet-DUTDlel iiss) ett.) Calitics SEL Po iiicncerscscatccsesscsacveststervccwusareveantressas BROD-2. 25¢ 
—capitata. (Now Dichelostemma pulcellum)....Earliest, light blue, HP......... BROD-3. 25¢ 
—Hendersonii. Fls. striqed brown in heads, RG, 6 in., HP... eceessesesees BROD-7. 25¢ 
=—OPCuUstiia | San Die LOW IG sel VACTI bl etiysctsedusentsvst-oerevecdsaetersedrdarasess BROD-9. 25¢ 
—puchella. Erect heads, clear blue, 2 ft, sun, HP. aa 25¢ 
——Brodinea blends BlEMdi Or malleSDPeCleS. WV erscccevacseescaseervsrenessessccevesdncdsecoseacesaloweesnsen co. YAS 
BUDDLEIA (BUD-lee-ah) Butterfly Bush 
Butterfly Bush. Diciduous or half hardy evergreen sh. or trees, a few hardy in the 
N. Grows rapidly, free bloomers, easy from seed, grow on jn frame first year. 
—asiatica. Tender, fllowered in GH in W from sd sown in sp; white....BUDD-2. 25¢ 
——qlobosa-= Oranse- yellow, .f1Sy BStrEKEn es, TWEE TSBs. ceisectcesecccterccedesesbuc.stetaateceer BUDD-9. 25¢ 
—Davidii. Summer Lilac. Lilac with orange eye, 10” spikes; 15 ft; HSh.... BUDD-7. 25¢ 
——New Garden Forms. Beautiful strain... eee eeeseeeneee Ozs SL00r =. BUDD-7N. 35¢ 
—Colvilei. Tender sh. dense spikes of purple fis; 15 £6. wc. ecesssssssceee, cesses BUDD-5. 25¢ 
—japonica. Lilac fils in drooping ®’ panicles; 6 ft; HSh; Japan.. .. BUDD-11. 25¢ 
—intermedia, Hybrid, violet fls in drooping panicles; TSh....... ..BUDD-10. 25¢ 
—Buddleja Blend. A blend of both varieties and SPeCjeS. oe BUDD-X. 25¢ 
BULBINELLA  (bul-bi-NEL-ah) 
Perennial plants from New Zealand and S. Af. Fleshy tuberous roots, grass-like 
leaves, yellow or white fis in dense clusters at end of bare stems. Plant in RC or 
border, not hardy in N. 
—Hookeri. Bright yellow fis in 10” racemes; 2ft; TP.....0.......cccccccccccsssssscssscessosevess BULB-1. 25¢ 
BULVSAN THUS “= speciosusiscto.2escccecesssctascsotees. covencenvestate cos cdetencesste Rives sebesaunece san8 BULV-1. 25¢ 
BUPHTHALUMUM. (bewf-THAL-mum) OX-EYE. Compositae. 
Showy herbaceous perennials, 3-4 feet high with large heads of yellow disk or ray 
flowers. They are easy to grow and suitable for the border; hardy well up into the 
North; may flower the first ear if started early. 
—salicifolium. Neat border plant; yellow fis; root runner; 2 ft; HP........ BUPH-23. 20¢ 
BUXUS. (BUX-us) BOX. Buxaceae. 
Evergreen shrubs extensively used as hedges. They stand shearing well and thrive 
even in partial shade; they are slow growers a good point for hedges, 
—sempervirens. Common Box. Grows to 25 ft ..Lb. $3.25... ccccsscsecccsccscee BUX-5. 25¢ 
BROM-1. 25¢ 
BROMELIADS: Seed collected in Columbia; no species name 
BROWALLIA (broh-WALL-e-ah) 
Free flowering half hardy annuals, 1-112 ft. tall, excellent beddjng plants, set at least 
6 inches apart. The blues are intense. Sunny locations, good soil, start seeds early 
indoors for early piants. Also good winter pot plants. 
—speciosa major. 5 ft. fils deep blue, 2 in. ac. used jn hanging haskets....RROW-3. 20¢ 
—viscosa compacta v. Sapphire. Compact; dark blue, white eye; 9”; pots BROW-4S. 25¢ 
BRUCKENTHALIA (bruk-en-THAL-ya) 
A single species very closely related to the Heaaths and requiring same culture. 
—spiculifolia. Fls racemes, very small bell-shape, pink, red berries, HP...BRUC-1l. 25¢ 
BRUNNERA. (BRUNN-er-ah) Boraginaceae. 
Similiar to Anchusa, native of Siberia and E. Med. regions. They are small herbac- 
eous plants. 
—-macrophylia. ’ Blue fis’ Jacae? Caticasus; User tts VEEP iticcosseersscsseerscoccticactsttestenee BRNN-1. 15¢ 
BRUNSFELSIA (brun-FEL-zi-ah) Greenhouse Plants 
Tropical shrubs and trees grown jn GH but out door in far S. Attractive plants for 
pots. Rich soil, night temp. 50 degrees. 
—americana. To 8 ft. fis white, very frag. at nite, TP... ccecsessescsees. BRUN-1. 25¢ 
CACTUS 
Popular name for many deert growing plants. They vary much jn form and size, 
most of which are not hary in the N but grown in pots indoors. The hardy sorts must 
be perfectly dry in the winter and should be covered with glass to keep soil dry. To 
germinate seed, sow in pot of light sojl, and keep inside; they require from 20 days 
to 4 months, grow on in pots, always watering from below and not too freely. 
—cereus. Mixture of S. A cereus, fast growing, white fis; nite blooming.CACT-1l. 20¢ 
—Strawberry Cactus. Clumps, 4 inches tall in 2 years.ccecssssesccsseee CACT-2. 15¢ 
—Barrel Cactus. Scenje desert plant; to 6 ft; white 15¢ 
—— CACIUS MB LOT itr ccsnct-sacsccssvosteasestnacbastrecsarsztcenerstcerssensteateac,soateaccsticareraustereacatseertetecs cerrateeee 15¢ 
CALANDRINIA. (kal-an-DRIN-ee-ah) Portulacaceae. 
Low growing fleshy plants, grown as annuals in the rockery or for edging. Flowers 
orange-yellow and coppery rose to brick red or crimson magenta. Best in sunny spot. 
—ciliata v. Menziesii. Red Maids. Crimson fis; erect; HA. cccscsseseseeee CALD-4. 20¢ 
—umbellata. (Scarlet fis; to) Geiser er uw El Ava eee ee See ne een CALD-8. 20¢ 
Explaination of the headings. The headings for each genus, starts with the genus 
name, Mirabilis, followed by the pronounciation; next in capitals as FOUR O’CLOCKS, 
are the common names, if any; then the family to which it belongs, always ending in 
eae, which will help many flower growers in classifying many of its requirements. The 
figures in brackets as (*15 days) are the days required for a normal germination and the 
star * before, if present, means that the time is variable but germination can be looked 
for at the time indicated; star alone means no definite time and it could be a year. 
PIONEER SEED COMPANY — DIMONDALE MICHIGAN 
